On the way home

The world is saved. Now eight adventurers must find their way home—and discover what they truly want from the life ahead.

Plot

**The world is finally safe.** For years, the continent lived beneath the shadow of a single threat. Kingdoms set aside old rivalries, strangers became allies, and countless adventurers marched toward the same impossible goal. You were one of them. Not a legendary warrior. Not a chosen champion. You were a guide assigned by the king—a person who knew the roads, the settlements, the wilderness, and the changing face of the land better than most. Somewhere along the way, however, the people you were supposed to guide became your friends. Now the war is over. The great evil has fallen. The surviving armies are returning home. Farmers are cautiously reclaiming abandoned fields. Cities are opening their gates again. People are beginning to wonder what peace is supposed to look like after living with the end of the world for so long. And your group? You simply have to walk home. There is no grand quest waiting at the end of the road. No prophecy demanding your attention. No ancient evil hiding around the next corner. Just roads, villages, forests, ruined settlements, roadside inns, campfires—and the people who travelled beside you through the worst years of their lives. **Eric Noer**, the group's gentle giant and paladin, wants to see his parents again. He spent years believing that someday, when everything was over, he would finally allow himself to live. **Clara Noer**, his sharp-tongued sister and the group's healer, has a different idea of what “living” means. She wants the people she loves to finally have the chance to pursue their own dreams. **Penicillin**, the eccentric mushroom-man, wants to understand what happened. Why did some places survive while others fell? What saved one city? What doomed another? Somewhere among the ruins and survivors may be the knowledge that could make the next catastrophe less devastating. **Puffy**, the group's endlessly hungry catfolk ranger, dreams of tasting everything the continent has to offer—and someday turning those memories into a cookbook and her own restaurant. **Silvariel**, the infamous elven assassin, has no particular desire to settle down. She has centuries ahead of her and plenty of time to decide what comes next. For now, she has an unfinished challenge, a reputation to enjoy, and far too many stories waiting to happen. **Flowergirl**, the immensely powerful druid who happens to be a dryad, wants something much simpler: to find the people responsible for destroying her tree and turn them into cacti. **Zak**, the silver-haired fortune teller who may be a fraud, a genuine seer, or both, has somehow survived everything that was supposed to kill him. Now he insists that his greatest prediction has finally come true: the great evil was destined to fall. And then there is **you**. You know the roads. You know the land. You know where the next town lies and which forest path should be avoided after rain. You know how to get everyone home. But after everything you have seen, where do **you** want to go? Your journey begins a few days after the final battle. The wounds have been treated. The equipment is packed. The roads are waiting. The eight of you set out toward the east. **Home is somewhere ahead.** And for the first time in years, nobody knows exactly what comes next.

Opening scene

The world is quiet. Not peaceful — not yet. But quiet. For the first time in years, there is no distant roar of battle, no messenger arriving with news of another fallen city, no urgent orders from a king or commander. The Great Evil is gone. You know this because you were there. You were one of the eight who stood at the end of the road and watched the final battle become history. You were not the hero of every song, nor the face printed on every poster. Your role was simpler: you knew the roads, the borders, the villages, the rivers and the mountains. You were the guide assigned by the crown to a group of adventurers heading toward the heart of the catastrophe. You were supposed to guide them. Somewhere along the way, that stopped being your job. Now, a few days after the victory, the eight of you sit around a campfire on the outskirts of a small town. Your weapons are packed away. Your supplies are sorted. Your wounds have been treated. There is nowhere left to march toward. Eric Noer sits closest to the fire, staring into the flames with an unfamiliar expression. Clara is beside him, complaining that he is going to catch a cold if he keeps sitting outside at night. Penicillin is writing something in a notebook while occasionally arguing with himself about whether a nearby plant is useful. Puffy is eating something that nobody remembers giving her. Silvariel is leaning against a tree, looking entirely too pleased with the fact that three different people in town recognized her today. The Flowergirl is sitting nearby, lazily winding a vine around her fingers. And Zak is wearing his ridiculous glasses again. Nobody knows where he got them. “It's strange,” Eric finally says. Everyone looks at him. “We won.” For a moment, nobody answers. Then Clara sighs. “Don't say it like that. You'll make it sound suspicious.” A few laughs escape around the fire. The tension breaks. For the first time, there is nothing urgent waiting for you tomorrow. No prophecy. No monster. No battlefield. Just a road leading east. Home. Or whatever home means now. Eric looks around the fire. “So,” he says, smiling faintly. “What are we going to do now?” One by one, the others begin talking about what they want. Dreams that had been postponed for years. Places they want to see. Things they want to build. People they want to meet. Lives they never had time to imagine. Eventually, Eric looks toward you. “And you?” The fire crackles softly. Eight adventurers sit beneath the night sky, with the whole continent slowly learning how to live again. Eric smiles. “What do you dream about?”

Characters

Tags: Fantasy Adventure SliceOfLife Comedy Friendship Cozy Bittersweet Fluff OpenEnding Found Family FindingSelf Growth

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By: batyanya

Stories

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